Chapter 12 – Part 3
4:25 PM, Friday 8th of September 1974 – Defence Against the Dark Arts Classroom
Antares stared blankly ahead as he sat at his desk once again, a hundred different thoughts racing through his mind, not one of them good.
Upon losing consciousness, Professor Graves had promptly 'Ennervated' him awake, before handing him a pepper-up potion and a calming draught.
Once the calming draught had taken hold and color had once more returned to his cheeks, he had quickly brought his Occlumency shields into full force, burying the many questions and insecurities he was currently feeling deep inside of his mind.
Schooling his features into his usual mask of indifference, he had followed the Professor back to the classroom. His usual confident and careless strut notably absent from his walk.
One thing he was grateful for, however, was the fact that the Professor hadn't asked any questions, nor made any comments about what had transpired with the Boggart. If he had any assumptions about what he saw, he had at least kept them to himself.
"Is everything all right Antares? You haven't said a word since you faced the Boggart" asked Sophia once they had finally been allowed to leave the DADA classroom.
"It's nothing," commented Antares quickly, "I'm just not feeling like myself is all".
"Is it because of what the Boggart turned into?" asked Xavier, not taking no for an answer.
Antares didn't respond. Sophia and Xavier looked to one another, understanding crossing their features. Not many things effected their friend, so whatever had caused such a reaction meant that it must have been something very serious. The last time something had deeply affected Antares, he didn't speak to any of them for months.
"Tell you what mate," said a grinning Xavier, throwing his arm around Antares shoulders, "How about I get the gang together and we all head down to the Three Broomsticks for a few pints. Take your mind off of things and whatnot".
"Xavier my friend, that's perhaps the smartest thing you've said all year" replied Antares with a tired smile, returning the favor by wrapping his arm around Xavier's shoulder.
"You guys can go on ahead. I'll inform the others and meet you at our usual table in half an hour" said Sophia, knowing that the two of them hadn't spent any time together since before the summer holidays.
Antares and Xavier didn't argue with her. In their opinion, the sooner they got to the pub, the better. So instead they wished her goodbye, before they set off in the direction of the entrance hall, arms still wrapped around each other's shoulders.
4:55 PM, Friday 8th of September 1974 – The Three Broomsticks Pub
The Three Broomsticks was bustling with activity as Antares and Xavier stepped into the brightly lit pub. The inn was warm, crowded, and a thin layer of smoke seemed to fill the entirety of the room. All of these things combined made the little pub all the more inviting, giving it a very homey and relaxed atmosphere.
"I'll get the drinks shall I?" offered Xavier as they found a table at the back of the room.
Antares shrugged non-committedly as he pulled out a wooden chair and sat down, his arms folded under him as he rested his head on the tabletop.
"ahh Xavier, I'd knew I'd see your handsome face around here sooner or later," said a pretty Green-eyed witch from behind the bar.
"Rosie," nodded a smirking Xavier, "How's business been?"
"Busy as usual. What'll it be then lad?" said Madam Rosmerta, owner, and proprietor of the Three Broomsticks.
"Two pints of your strongest firewhiskey" replied Xavier quietly, "and a couple of roast dinners as well if you don't mind?"
"School that rough already? You've only just got back" she commented idly as she bent down behind the wooden counter and pulled out a large glass bottle of amber liquid.
"Not exactly. Antares' had a bit of a rough week. So seeing as it's a Friday, I figured we'd get drunk enough to make him forget his troubles for a while" whispered Xavier, leaning towards here so that only she could here.
"He does look rather down doesn't he," she said as she spotted Antares lounging figure at the back of the pub.
"You can't exactly blame him though. If I found out that I was to be married I wouldn't exactly be thrilled about it either"
"Cheers Rosie. Just put it on the tab would you?" nodded Xavier, picking up the two large tankards she had just placed down in front of him.
"Will do, and don't hesitate to call if you need anything else. The two of you are some of my most valuable customers, not to mention some of my favorites" said Rosmerta with a wink.
Xavier nodded at her as he turned around and made his way back over to their tables. Antares hadn't moved from his earlier position, so Xavier slammed the drinks down upon the wooden table loudly, arousing him from his brooding.
Antares only stared at him with one eyebrow raised, before grabbing the tankard closest to him and bringing it to his lips.
The pleasant and familiar taste of the Firewhiskey immediately hit him as he greedily gulped down the burning hot yet, refreshing cold, liquid, his eyes closing in contentment as he drained the entire contents in one go. Slamming his empty cup down in front of him, Antares burped loudly, grinning widely when Xavier looked at him
"Slow down Antares. No need to drown yourself so soon, we've got the entire night ahead of us to get drunk. Plus, I expect the others to be arriving any minute now"
Antares merely looked at his best friend as if he was missing the point as to why they were here in the first place. He wanted to drink until he forgot all the troubles that currently plagued his mind. The quickest way to do that was to drink as much as he could, as fast he could. He, shrugging his shoulders uncaringly, he picked up the other tankard on the table and proceeded to drink that also.
"Hey, that's my" – began Xavier, before giving up mid-sentence, Antares wasn't listening anyway, too busy downing the rest of his Firewhiskey.
'Serves him right,' thought Antares smugly as he once more slammed his empty tankard onto the wooden table, 'he shouldn't be such a killjoy. Maybe then I wouldn't have stolen his drink".
Taking his seat, Antares watched as his friend just shook his head from side to side in exasperation, before walking back up to the bar to order another round of drinks.
Antares sighed heavily to himself. His first week back at Hogwarts had been great, if somewhat trying and tiring. Seeing all of his friends after so long a break had been the highlight of his week. He had almost forgotten how much each and every one of them meant to him, and now that he was back in their presence he wondered how he had ever survived the summer holidays without their company. His late-night rendezvous with Sophia on their first night back had been as amazing as intercourse could get, but seeing as it was their last time together the experience almost had a bittersweet feeling surrounding it. His meeting with Maxine and Prefect duty with Lily had both been great times also. Everything else that had happened since then he would put into the 'somewhat manageable' Category, being neither too bad nor too great.
His DADA Class today, however, was an entirely different situation altogether. When he had put his hand up in order to go first against the Boggart, he genuinely had no idea what his greatest fear was. But now that he had seen it with his own eyes, he wished that he hadn't.
He had always been fearful of disappointing his family. Ever since he was a young boy his parents and grandparent's opinions had been very dear to his heart. Their approval meant the world to him, their disappointment heartbreaking beyond words. It was for this reason that he had reacted the way he had when the Boggart had appeared before him in the form of his parents. Deep down he knew that they would be proud of him no matter what he did. But there was always a small niggling in the back of his mind that said 'What if they weren't'. It was this question that had he always reverted back to, along with a hundred other questions of a similar nature.
Despite his embarrassing reaction to his Boggart, he was thankful for the encounter with the creature. To know what one's greatest fear above all else was useful information. He was just grateful that Graves had made them face the shapeshifter one-one-one. He couldn't imagine how fast his reputation would be destroyed had it been known that thing he feared above all else was his family's disappointment.
Xavier's' return several moments later saved him from the many thoughts that were running through his mind. Two large circular trays floated before him, one full of Firewhiskey and the other containing their roast dinners.
Xavier sat down in his seat, before waving his wand lazily in front of himself. The dinners floating off of the tray and landing in front of himself and Antares. He did the same thing for the Firewhiskey, a tankard each finding itself in front of either of them and the rest remaining on the tray between them.
"Thanks, Xav, I'm positively starving after those drinks" mumbled Antares as he picked up his fork and began to dig into his dinner of roast lamb and vegetables.
"You've done the same for me on more than one occasion Antares, it's only right I return the favor" Xavier merely stated, waving away the thanks.
It was true too, Antares had been there to help him cope with several different situations in his life. Situations that nobody else could know about. Situations that were too embarrassing to speak about.
For several minutes the two of them ate in silence, enjoying their dinner and Firewhiskey (which Antares was now sipping rather than sculling). It was only after they had both put down their knives and forks and pushed their plates to the side, that Xavier went to ask the question that had been on the tip of tongue since they had arrived. Antares, however, beat him to it.
"It was my family. My Boggart that is," confessed Antares quietly, "I know you've been dying to ask since we left DADA"
Understanding instantly flooded Xavier's features as his dearest friend revealed his deepest fear. Of course, it had been his family that had made him react in such a way.
"How ironic it is that the only thing that I fear above all else is the one thing that I love more dearly than anything on this earth" he muttered to himself, before taking a drink of his Firewhiskey.
"You've never done anything by halves Antares, even you know this. With everything that's expected of you, It's no wonder you fear their opinion of you. You've always been in control of your destiny, and now that they have chosen your betrothed, you feel as if you've lost some semblance of control. Them choosing your future wife doesn't change anything in the grand scheme of things. You still destined for great things, and they will support you no matter where your life may lead "replied Xavier slowly, trying not to upset his friend by saying the wrong thing. Antares had quite the temper at times, he'd seen it firsthand on more than one occasion.
Antares laughed darkly at that, lifting his cup to his lips once more and taking a longer swig than the previous. He said nothing more, so Xavier continued, hoping to pry from him the real reason he felt the need to be afraid of his family's opinion of him.
"Why is it that you really fear them, Ares. You know they'll support you no matter what you do with your life. If you are still annoyed at them about your betrothal, no doubt they thought that choosing for you would make it easier for you to focus on other, more important, things?" whispered Xavier, leaning forward in his seat so that the other occupants couldn't hear him.
"It's not that. I'm happy with the betrothal, at least, for the time being,"
Here he paused for several seconds, really taking the time to think about what was truly troubling him. What did he want to say? What did he truly feel deep down within himself? What was the true reason that he feared his family above all else? Lowering his Occlumency shields completely, he let all of his pent-up feelings come to the forefront of his mind.
"I want to do more with my life Xav. I want to be known as more than just another Dark Wizard from a Dark Family, who sat back and did nothing when it mattered the most. I feel a storm brewing Xav. I don't know how or why, but I feel it in the air. This Voldemort situation is beginning to become more of a problem. Every other day theirs mentions of unexplained deaths and disappearances. The Ministry may be blind to it, and perhaps the rest of wizarding Britain also, but I am not. When the time comes, I want to be fighting on what I feel to be the right side, even if it means going against everything that my family has stood for for the last three millennia." Antares proclaimed quietly, his words leaving his mouth before he even had time to think about what he was saying. He was speaking from the heart. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Xavier listened attentively as his friend finally revealed the true reason he had been acting strangely all day. Something had changed within his friend since the end of last year. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, and he didn't think even Antares himself knew about the changes that he had somehow gone through. But something was definitely different about his friend this year. Never before had he talked about such things. Of being a better Wizard. Of trying to distance himself from being associated as Dark. Of going against his own family's values and beliefs when it came to Blood superiority. Beliefs that up until today he had always strongly and vocally supported without doubt or reservation.
"Where is this coming from Antares? When did this happen? When did you have a change of heart? You're not the same as you used to be. Somethings different. The Antares I know would never speak of such things" asked Xavier, curiosity getting the better of him.
"I don't know, Xav," Antares admitted his broad shoulders hunched, his voice somewhat distant as he looked at anywhere but Xavier, "Somethings changed within me. I don't know when – or why – it happened, but it has. It all seems so meaningless now, Blood Purity that is. Whether your pureblood, half-blood or Mudblood, what does it matter? We're all capable of performing the great gift that is Magic, that should be enough for anyone."
Xavier was now very worried about his friend. Never had Antares so casually dismissed blood purity as if it was unimportant. He was just about to question him further, when he spotted Sophia, Caroline, Jasper and Tristan across the room. Not wanting them to be privy to their private conversations, he leaned in quickly and
"I'll stand with you, Ares. No matter the fight. No matter the enemy. You're my brother, and I would follow you to whatever end" swore Xavier quietly, hand reaching out to grasp Antares's own in a vice-like grip. They were brothers in all but blood, and he wouldn't change it for the world.
Antares only nodded slightly, but gratitude and relief were written all over his features. Antares shoulders relaxed somewhat at Xavier's declaration of fealty, he had. He believed him too. Xavier would follow him to the death without a second thought, and he would do the same. To know that his friend didn't think less of him because of his change of opinion was quite a relief. He didn't know what he would do without him.
"Feeling better Antares," asked Sophia as she and the others came into view, sitting herself down beside him with a grace few could master.
"A lot actually. A couple of Firewhiskeys and I'm good as gold," replied Antares with a grin, his mask slipping back into place and his Occlumency shields raising once more.
"I'm glad to hear it. It must have been something awful if your reaction was so strong" she replied, asking for more information without really asking.
"It was nothing," Antares said, waving his hand dismissively, "The Boggart just surprised me is all. Nothing a good drink can't fix. But enough about me, what will you guys be having to drink? My shout, so don't hold back".
Sophia made to say more but a pointed look from Xavier stopped her in her tracks. Obviously, something big had happened, something that Antares didn't want everyone to know. So instead of pushing the subject, she just nodded and gave her order.
"Red currant rum for me, and one of those roast dinners as well"
"Hmm, I think I'll have the same," said Caroline after a few moments of thought.
"Jasper, Tristan, you mind getting the orders. I mean I would, but truthfully I really can't be bothered getting up"' asked Antares, pulling out a full coin purse and handing it to Tristan
"Sure, It's no trouble, seeing as your paying" replied Tristan as he got to his feet, Jasper following suit, "What was it you were wanting Antares?"
"Firewhiskey. Lots and Lots of Firewhiskey. I want to forget, just for a little while at least."